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May 1704 (7)
= La Gloire du Roi - May 1704 = Weather this month *Heavy rain in the East Indies. Events Of Importte Pertaining To Recent Matters Copenhagen *The Russian Baltic Fleet of 21 ship of the line under the command of Admiral Apraxin has sailed into Copenhagen where following discussions with the port authorities the admiral took possession of ten new lineships which had specifically been built for the Russian Navy by the Danish yards. *The Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Viscount Rosenkrantz, while being at pains to acknowledge that Denmark is not at war with Sweden, has confirmed that this kingdom remains a firm ally of the Tsar of Russia 'who has always acted with complete propriety towards Denmark'. Reims *Prince Frederick Augustus of Saxony has bitterly complained that he can't afford reparations to the sum of £2,000,000 asked for in the proposed Treaty of Dresden in one go, but would happily pay a quarter of that sum immediately under a revised treaty to restore peace, with three more annual installments each also of £500,000 payable each February until the full sum is paid. He requests that the Emperor accept this, and if His Sacred Majesty does then the House of Saxony happily accepts the terms of the said treaty. General Manuel Dego, who had ridden along a bad track from Paris, came to Reims and urged Prince Frederick to accept the Treaty of Dresden as it stands. Amsterdam, Rome & Hanover *Across Europe, in places as disparate as Amsterdam, Rome, and Hanover, pamphlets are being distributed criticising the French sale of Madagascar in venomous terms: Christian Madagascar has been sold into the despicable and vile HELL of Islamic slavery. Which CHRISTIAN lands will the vile French Monarch sell out next to their Ottoman ally? Hungary? Shall it be Venice? In Rome at least the pamphlet does not enjoy much popularity since it is held that Madagascar can hardly be described as Christian when the last Christians to settle there were slaughtered by the pagan natives back in 1674! London *The Duke of Ormonde, Lord Treasurer of England has released emergency funding to help His Majesty's subjects who have been adversely affected by the French invasion. *Ms. Belle Watling, wearing black on account of the loss of her dear friend Mister Coursey, has held a soiree at No.7 Park Lane for messrs. Thakery, Tompion, Barlow, and Van Eye and as many of good society as have chosen to remain in the capital during The Emergency. It was a gay evening and the art of Van Eyke was much admired by all. As the evening wore on Ms. Watling announced that she was tired of 'all this talk of war' and so intends to travel Europe - taking in the Grand Tour that her young admirers have spoken so much about. She hopes to see the ruins of antiquity and to add to her collection, but it is not clear whether by this she means of objet d’arte or beaux! Vienna *The Duke d'Anjou and his party has withdrawn from the court of Vienna, with regret following Austria's recent comments in the Herald. Moscow *Possibly unexpectedly Prince Ferenc Rakoczi has turned up with his friend Miklos Bercsenyi in Moscow and expressed his wish to hold talks with the Russian leadership over future liberty for Hungary? *A ceremony has taken place to officially recognise and confirm Count Alexander as the Grand Duke of Ingria. During the ceremony the Duke swore fealty to the Tsar and pledged the allegiance of Ingria to the Russian Empire. In return the Tsar promised to protect the state of Ingria and to help it develop itself further. Discussions also took place on the happy progress being made on the city of St. Petersburg, and the Duke was informed that his own personal bodyguard is currently being raised at Russian cost, and the Ingrian Army will be expanded as Ingrian recruits become available. The Duke also learnt that in the coming months Russia will put into place assets to ensure the Gulf of Finland will be open to merchants all year round, thus increasing the potential flow of trade and wealth into Ingria. Duke Alexander spoke of how public opinion in the Baltic States is turning more and more to seeing Russia 'as the best option for protection and expansion'. There followed by a large celebration, at the end of which Duke Alexander made it clear that he will now return to his capital of Narva a satisfied man. Rochefort *James II, King-in-exile of Great Britain has reached Rochefort and announced his intention to cross with the French and Jacobite forces heading for England so that they may restore him to his throne which was granted him by divine right. Goa *Brigands have raided villages and ransacked an English trade caravan on the island of Goa on the caost of India. Paris *English shipwrights in Paris have presented themselves to the city authorities, declaring they are here under orders to teach the French how to make spoon dredgers. Chatham *Churchill's siege conducted against Chatham has continued, and on 12th May the main walls were breached by his artillery. Attempts were made to take the breach, but the English grenadiers failed to take the position off the defenders. The attentions of the cannon of the French ship of war Hardi, which have continued to enfilade the siege lines, did not help the English effort to take the breach! Later in the month Hardi withdrew to join the main body of the French fleet, and its position was replaced by five lineships. *East of the French Navy's station off Chatham, on the Thames and the Medway, two English fleets of war have combined to form the Grand Fleet under Lord Admiral Price. He has under sail 89 ship of the line and three cruisers... *Le Comte de Forbin-Gardanne sent Contre-Admiral Desjean in his ship Monarque to lead two other lineships, Invincible and Saint-Espirit, into Chatham. He reasoned that Desjean's ship is large enough to sustain any punishment received via bow rakes on the way in, and ordered this squadron to attack at night. Desjean did as he was bid, but declined to snuff out the lanterns on his ships for fear of running aground in the dark. Leading in Monarque, he brought his squadron through the harbour mouth in line ahead. Almost inexplicably the cannon of the warship London remained silent until Monarque had nearly cleared the mouth, but then belched out fire, flame and death at the French ship. At such close range this made a terrible mess of the decks, as well as causing immense damage below decks. The pounding was so severe that the captains of the following Men O'War shirked their duty and declined to enter, well aware of the pounding the lead ship was taking despite the impediment of darkness, while Monarque veered to try and present her own broadside (against orders, but Desjean had been temporarily incapacitated and his ship's decks were in an awful state). Again the English guns blazed, and Monarque took multiple hits, splintering timbers and starting fires which lit up the night sky. Then all of a sudden the French lineship blew up, her magazine having been set alight! The Hague *The Count of Windischgratz has informed the Dutch Foreign Minister Johann Ostrander that Austria is willing to enter into a mutual defence treaty with the United Provinces, Spain, and England. Suez & Cairo *Ottoman Anatolian slaves, engineers and surveyors have joined their Egyptian counterparts at Suez in preparation to start work on a major project - the construction of a ship canal. Everything is now place, except that there is not as yet any ladle dredgers to hand. *In Cairo Ambassador Umit Bilirgen informed Bey Huseyin of Egypt that the ladle dredgers shall be sited as he suggests and shall be removed at the completion of their project. "Once work has commenced on the construction of such dredgers, the other resources shall be put in place to begin construction in earnest." His Excellency added that, "Surveyors and engineers are being established on the Mediterranean end of the proposed Suez Canal, in line with the agreement reached last year between the Grand Vizier and yourself. They are there for the construction of the canal only, and they will be removed as soon as the canal is complete." Genoa *On behalf of the Republic of Genoa, Chancellor Marco Brignoles has announced that the terms of the Treaty of Madrid are accepted, as if the offer of spoon dredgers made by Spain to this republic. Jassy *The Great Chancellor of Moldvia announced that Prince Mihail Racovita is graciously investing 2,000,000 boratinkis of his own personal fortune in the on-going development of the national infrastructure. Dresden *In the army camp south of Dresden the Holy Roman Emperor has remained on his sick-bed, but asked that Count Monterrey be brought to him. General Prince of Vaudemont went to find the said count, and treating him with the uttermost respect and gallantry took him to the Emperor's bedside. His Sacred Majesty sat up and presented Monterrey with a ceremonial sword which the Emperor has held for him since 1701, when he had hoped to have presented it to him at the signing of the Treaty of Brussels. "It is my view that a revival of the Treaty of Brussels is needed again between England, Spain, the Dutch, and Austria," Leopold said. "I agree to the Spanish-proposed Treaty of Dresden," he added. "I am signing this now. I have not done this because of Russian threats or out of any regard for Augustus of Saxony, but because the request came from Spain whom I do hold in high regard." Count Monterrey was then given leave to go wherever he wished, and so it was that the Grand Chamberlain left to return to El Escorial. Before going he expressed his sheer pleasure at the reasonableness of the Emperor, and also had the honour of informing His Sacred Majesty that the Queen of Spain is now pregnant! Accra *Chief Nene Narteh Kanor of Accra has visited the Fort Hope stockade in Accra and asked for the 699 muskets the Honourable West India Company holds here for the Asante to be sent to Kumasi, stating that he has already sent his own musket ahead. Constantinople *The Ottoman Grand Vizier and General Suleyman Ismail Pasha, Vizier of the Army reviewed the soldiers of the Anatolian 1st Army in Istanbul, and then watched the smart march past of the Janissaries, tribal warriors, and lancers of the Istanbul Column who went by with great precision. Addressing the Istanbul Column after their march the Grand Vizier commended them on their perfection. “By the end of this year, every soldier in the Ottoman Anatolian army will have been drilled to the highest level, with every sailor well underway to achieving the same. In addition, all our ships will have been copper-bottomed, improving the Imperial Navy’s performance. The Imperial Army is without doubt the finest body of men in the world and I would defy any nation to try to stand against us!” He then announced that a bonus of one ashrafi per man to the soldiers of the Istanbul Column as well as those of his personal bodyguard in recognition of their quality was hereby paid! Mogilev-Podil'skw *The Hopsdar of Moldavia has reached Mogilev- Podil-skw with his escort and chatted amicably once there to the Marquis de Medoc, one of France's leading wine experts who now lectures here. Versailles *In the corridors of Versailles some servants of the King were overheard gossiping that France's attack on England without a declaration of war was dishonourable (although the prevalent - or at least public - view amongst courtiers now is that His Majesty did give a month's notice prior to the war beginning). It was soon being made known throughout the court that the nobility in particular have a duty to support the King and that anti-French propaganda spread by our enemies should be vigorously repulsed. This applies in particular to the lie that France attacked England without declaring war: The Declaration was published a month before troops landed in Bristol. Support for King Louis and for French forces is vital at this time; if French honour falls as a consequence of disloyalty, then taxes will rise. The breakdown in French-Austrian relations is no fault of France; meanwhile if the English Parliament votes in favour of the peace proposals then the English war will be over by July; if not then France will prosecute the war aggressively and by mid 1705 it should be over. This session of the Assembly has been closed as the deputies desired; they have been told they should return to their estates and keep morale up by preventing anti-French lies. Mexico, Milan & Saragossa *The gentlemen of the Cabildo of New Spain were hardly impressed when they again gathered in the Great Hall to hear that they were now expected to meet for a further three months. They had already been meeting for many, many months and are of the firm opinion that a recess is well overdue! *The mood was more conducive in Milan and Saragossa where the initial openings of the assemblies was marked with joyful balls for the nobility, and a fiesta for the commoner (the same happened in Mexico, but the men of the Cabildo firmly chose not to enjoy it). Queen Sophia attended the Saragossa fiesta wearing a gown of white Milanese silk embroidered with gold thread and pearls. Her Highness, who it was revealed is with child, looked 'blooming'. The baby, if a boy, shall be called Leopold, Duke of Saragossa, or so it is being said, in honour of the Emperor no doubt. On a quite frivolous matter, Queen Sophia and her ladies in waiting are known to quite love Milanese silks and believe Doge Franchi of Genoa's merchant traders should help other ladies of the Spanish Empire get these, and help their husbands to get their tobacco, sugar and spices back to Europe. Back to the business at hand... The assemblies are opportunities to enable the great and the good to petition the Crown of Spain, make speeches, deal with legal matters and display good lordship over their fellow subjects on behalf of His Most Catholic Majesty. In Saragosssa the current session of the Cortez of Aragon was been formally started by King Carlos III of Spain with all due pomp. Some are saying that with the old guard of Louis XIV and the Emperor due to pass on and so join William of Orange, the King of Spain now remains as the most impressive of the new generation of European leaders. Isfahan *Vilad-ul-nabi was celebrated in Isfahan on the 26th of May. Those attending upon the Shah at the Palace of the Sublime Gate wore their finest clothes, and gathered with His Highness to recite prayers of thanksgiving to Allah for sending the Prophet Muhammed as a mercy to all nations. Poetry was recited after the prayers, sweets were distributed and perfume sprinkled or applied to all. Even children received gifts and a fun fair was arranged for them at the Naqsh-I Jahan covered market where all the people of the city were able to visit and take part in the celebrations. Herrero lands *Juan Bello, Governor of Walvis Bay walked into the African uplands and was met by Herrero tribesmen. He didn't have much chance to speak as they chanted 'Kutako! Kutako! Kutako!' He gathered that this was not going well, and started to back away when they threw spears at him and in an instant ended his mortal life... Cadiz *Rodrigo Martello has put on a fiesta for the officers and men of the Spanish Foreign Legion who arrived in Cadiz this month and who are said to be in very high spirits and looking forward to serving overseas. Peking *Ambassador Liang Wen Zhong has secured changes to the wedding arrangements proposed between Honoured Lord Yea and Princess Wencheng, and having done so issued a formal invitation to the Celestial Emperor to request the high honour of his attendance at the wedding of his loyal and faithful servant Lord Yea in Shanghai in October? Reading *On riding into Reading at the head of his troops General Duke James of Berwick, Duc de Fitz-James, Général d'armée de la Légion étrangère has boasted that 'we are winning this war' in the name of the House of Stuart! News that the Jacobites are so close to London has caused some consternation in the capital... People being Much Admired by the Best in Société *The Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I *Lord Yea Of The Shantung Province Of The Heavenly Celestial Manchu Empire *Mihail Racovita, Hospdar Prince Of Moldavia *Cardinal Portocarrero Of The Council Of State, Bishop Of Toledo, King Of Spain’S Treasurer *King Louis Xiv Of France, The Sun King *Maharaj-Prince Shrimant Rajaram Of The Maharatas *Shah Soltan Hussain Of Persia *Roger Martel Of The Honourable West India Company, Spain’S Viceroy Of Africa Shipping Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Movements *A Persian merchant ship was lost in the Arabian Sea, but a few days later a patrolling Persian corvette intercepted the ship while it was being led away as a prize by an Indian galley. *The corvettes captain had his vessel blast the galley, which struck its colours with alacrity and thus became a prize of the Navy of Persia. The merchant trader was set free. *Persia's Fleet of Ormuz under Mirak Ghiyas, 1st Admiral of the Fleet, has entered the anchorage of Cadiz. *The fleet numbers five ship of the line, ten cruisers and 20 transports. *Rodrigo Martello saw them come in with his own eyes, since he was down at the waterfront conducting business in transferring the ownership of some spoon dredgers. Lloyds Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Losses from Causes Unknowne or Knowne *None. Ambassadorial Appointments *None. Trade Missions Opened *By the Honourable West India Company in Jassy, Calais, Venice, and Naples. *By Shantung China in Pondicherry and in Singapore. *The Royal Bank of Africa has opened branches in Kingston (Jamaica), Santa Marta, Oran, Las Palmas, Cadiz, Yorktown, and London. Automatically parsed by LGDRParser v1.0 Category:Game 7